Prospero’s America: John Winthrop Jr., Alchemy, and Connecticut Culture

Presented by Walter W. Woodward, Connecticut State Historian emeritus, scholar, author, and former Professor, UCONN

This talk is the antidote to the widespread belief that Puritans were dour and mean-spirited witch-hunters, whose godly conservatism made them anti-tolerant, anti-science, anti-Indian, and anti-business and commerce. It recounts the story of John Winthrop, Jr., who was not only one of New England’s most important founders and the governor of Connecticut for 17 years, but also a protector of accused witches, a guardian of Indians singled out for genocide, and the most renowned scientist in all the colonies, who sought to use alchemy to make Connecticut a God-inspired scientific research laboratory.

This hitherto unknown story, from the award winning book of the same name, will make you reconsider what you thought you knew about early Connecticut and the English people who colonized it.

BIO
Walter W. Woodward is Connecticut State Historian emeritus. He served as the State Historian of Connecticut and a member of  the History Department at the University of Connecticut  from 2004 to 2022. He was the fifth person to hold the position of State Historian, which was created in the 1930s in preparation for Connecticut’s 300th anniversary. He retired in July of 2022, becoming Connecticut State Historian emeritus. Dr. Woodward is a scholar of Early American and Atlantic World history, with an emphasis on Connecticut and New England. He is the author of five books, the most recent of which is Creating Connecticut: Critical Moments That Shaped a Great State (Globe Pequot Press, 2020). His book Prospero’s America: John Winthrop, Jr.,Alchemy and the Creation of New England Culture, 1606-1676 (Omohundro Institute, University of North Carolina Press, 2010) won the Homer Babbidge Prize from the Association for the Study of Connecticut History, and was a Choice magazine Outstanding academic title.

Prof. Woodward received his Ph. D. with Distinction from the University of Connecticut in 2001 He obtained his Master’s Degree in History from Cleveland State University, and his B.A. in English from the University of Florida.  Prior to joining UConn, he was a faculty member of the Department of History at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.

As State Historian emeritus, Woodward continues to research, write and share his love for the history of Connecticut and New England through the Today in Connecticut History program  and at TODAYINCTHISTORY.com, musical performances with his group The Band of Steady Habits, articles, and public lectures.